Illuminated sign.



PATENTED AUG. 8, 1905.

P. DUCK. ILLUMINATED SIGN.

urmouzon rum) JUNE 27, 1904.

u R FISHING- PLIT BAM Gfi UNITED STATES DANIEL F. DUCK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ILLUMINATED SIGN.

Specification of Letters Batent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1905.

Application filed June 27, 1904:. Serial No. 214,302-

To all whom, it may concern.-

- Be it known that I, DANIEL F. DUCK, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Illuminated Signs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in illuminated signs of that class embracing a hollow sign body or case adapted to contain a.

suitable illuminating light or lights and provided with one or more sign-panels which support illuminated letters constituting all or a part of the subject-matter of the sign.

The invention relates more specifically to a novel form of letter adapted for use with a sign of this character and to the combination of such form of letter with a hollow illuminated sign-body.

A sign embodying my invention embraces a plurality of hollow letters which are supported on the sign-panel, constituting in this instance one of the walls of the hollow illuminated case and which extend beyond the said panel. Said hollow letters are in open communication with the interior of the illuminated body or case, so as to receive light from the source of illumination therein. The front faces of said letters are preferably opaque and provided with openings closed by transparent closures, whereby light passes through said openings and outlines the letters in the dark. The side faces of said letters, or those perpendicular to the front faces thereof, are made of transparent material, whereby the light which enters the hollow letters from the illuminated sign-body may pass laterally from said letters and illuminate the face of the sign-panel. The exposed face of the signpanel may therefore be provided with other non-illuminated letters or characters, which are illuminated by the laterally-directed light from the letters, so as to be readily readable in the dark.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a partialfront elevation of a sign made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal horizontal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken through one of the letters and through the sign-panels. Fig. 4 is a similar section taken through a modified form of the Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of a device.

further modificationof the letter construc tion.

As shown in the drawings, A designates as a whole the hollow body of the sign comprising a back wall a, top and bottom walls a at, end walls a and a front wall a constituting the sign-panel. If desired, both the front and rear walls may constitute a sign-panel; but for convenience of illustration but one panel-wall is shown. Any form of illumination may be employed such, for instance, as the electric lamps A herein shown.

B designates a plurality of hollow letters which are mounted on the front wall or panel a Said letters each consist of a front wall I), made of an opaque material and ofthe proper face outline for the letter. The front wall of the letter is shown in Figs. 3 and 5 as being of the same construction as the panelwall a that is, made of thin sheets of material secured together face to face to constitute a laminated structure; but this construction is optional. The inner and outer side walls I) b of the letters are made of any suitable transparent materialas, for instance, mica.

The panel-wall a of the casing is provided with openings which correspond in outline to the outlines of the letters B, and the rear margins of the inner and outer side walls I) b of the letters extend into said openings in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 3 and are attached to the panel-wall in any suitable manner. It will thus be seen that the interior of the hollow letters B are in open communication with the interior of the sign-body, whereby the interior illumination of said signbody is transmitted to the hollow letters B. The said hollow letters are herein shown as fastened in the front wall or panel of the signbody by means of binding-strips 5 b which conform to the outlines of the letters and overlie the inner margins of the side walls I).

b of the letters and between which and the walls of the openings in the panel the inner and outer side walls of the block-letters are confined. Said letters are shown in Fig. 3 as held in place by means of tacks or nails driven through said strips 6 through the side walls of the letters and into the panels. The

'front walls I) of the hollow letters are affixed side walls of the letter, and into the margins of said end wall I) of the letter. Preferably the front walls of the individual letters are perforated and the openings thereof are filled with a suitable transparent filler or closure of a nature to prevent the entrance of the elements into the hollow letters from the front thereof while permitting the light to pass freely outwardly therethrough. As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, hollow bulbs C C,

conforming in general outlines to small electric lamps, are located in said openings, thereby giving to the individual letters the appearance of electric illumination. I may, however, employ solid glass closures D, as shown in Fig. 5. In such event such closures will preferably be made of prismatic contour.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a construction wherein the sign body or casing is made of sheet metal. In such figure E designates the front wall or sign-panel of said sheet-metal casing, and F designates as a whole a hollow block-letter projecting outwardly therefrom in the same manner as do the letters B of the sign previously described. In this construction the openings in the panels over which the letters are set are provided with surrounding flanges e, which are folded to constitute grooves to receive the inner ends of the inner and outer side transparent walls f f 'of the hollow letters. The outer or end walls f 2 of said letters are made of sheet metal and are provided with folded flanges f at their margins, which constitute grooves to receive the outer margins of the inner and outer wallsff Said inner and outer walls are attached to the flanges ef by means of bolts 6 as herein shown. The front walls f of the hollow letters are herein shown as perforated and provided with glass bulbs C, through which the light from the interior of the sign is exposed through the letter.

The construction of the letter described permits the light from the interior of the sign body or case to shine laterally from the letters against the front face of the sign-panel and to illuminate any other characters or letters constituting part of the subject-matter of the sign or an ornamentation thereof. For instance, the salient part or subject-matter of the sign may be made up of the illuminated letters B or F, while-the subordinate part of the sign may be printed or embossed upon the panel and be illuminated by the light which passes laterally through the side walls of the hollow letters. Not only does this advantage appear in the sign herein shown, but the outlines of the hollow letters themselves show with greater clearness, especially if the outer or front faces of said hollow letters be of a color distinguished from the front face of the sign-panel.

I claim as my invention- 1. A hollow letter or symbol for an illuminating-sign, comprising side and end walls and an opaque face, said letter or symbol being adapted for attachment at its open rear side to a sign-body or other illuminating device and having its side walls made transparent whereby light-rays may pass laterally and outwardly therethrough from the inte rior of the letter or symbol.

2. A hollow letter or symbol for an illuminating-sign, comprising side and end walls and a perforated opaque face, said letter or symbol being adapted for attachment at its open rear side to a sign-body or other illuminating device and having its side walls made transparent whereby light-rays may pass laterally and outwardly therethrough from the interior of the letter or symbol.

3. A hollow letter or symbol for an illuminated sign, which is open at its rear end and adapted for attachment at its rear end to a sign-body, said letter or symbol having a perforated opaque front wall or face, and inner and outer transparent side walls through which light-rays may pass outwardly from the interior of the letter.

4. A sign comprising a hollow body ro- Vided with interior illumination, one wa l of which constitutes a sign-panel, and a plurality of hollow letters or symbols supported on said panel and communicating interiorly with the interior of the hollow body, said letters or symbols extending beyond the panel and being provided with outer and inner transparent side walls through which lightrays pass laterally or outwardly to illuminate the front face of the sign-panel and being provided with an opaque front wall.

5. A sign comprising a hollow sign-body provided with interior illumination, one wall of which constitutes a sign-panel, and a plurality of hollow letters or symbols supported on said panel and which communicate interiorly with the interior of the hollow body, said letters or symbols extending beyond the panel and being provided with inner and outer transparent side walls through which the light-rays pass laterally or outwardly to illuminate the front face of the sign-panel and bein provided with opaque perforated front wal s.

6. A sign comprising a hollow sign-body and being provided with opaque perforated front walls, the perforations of which are closed by transparent closures.

7. A sign comprising a hollow body, one wall of which constitutes a sign-panel, means for interiorly illuminating the hollow body, a plurality of block-letters supported on said wall said block-letters being made hollow and provided with inner and outer transparent side walls and with opaque front walls, the sign-panel being provided with openings corresponding to the outlines of said letters, and the inner and outer side walls of the letters fitting in said openings and being attached thereto.

8. A sign comprising a hollow body, one wall of which constitutes a sign-panel, means for interiorly illuminating the hollow body, and a plurality of block-letters supported on said wall, said block-letters being made hollow and being provided with inner and outer transparent side walls and with opaque per -forated front walls, the sign-panel being provided with openings corresiponding to the outlines of the letters, the si e are fitted to said openings and attached thereto.

9. A sign comprising a hollow body, one

walls of which tached thereto, and the front walls 0 the hollow letters being provided with a plurality of openings closed by transparent closures.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 23d day of June, A. D. 1904.

DANIEL F. DUCK.

Witnesses:

W. L. HALL, GERTRUDE BRYCE. 

